Parking

[obviousNC101]

Slightly different parking one for all your parking thread lovers out there.

I live in a fairly new "village" in a city which is made up of lots of blocks of new build flats. It has a 24 hr concierge and restricted parking which is enforced by a private company along with the concierge.

There is a car park under each block of flats so all residents have one space and then there are 2-3 spaces outside each block which are "visitor bays". To use gear you have to go to the concierge and ask for a permit to put in the window, usually with permission of the resident you are visiting.

Officially these permits are supposed to be for 4 hrs only but it's always been the case that you could go to or email the concierge in advance and ask for an overnight pass for a visitor or just a longer one if necessary.

I've lived here almost a year and in that time the visitor bays have never been full. I've never had an issue getting a longer pass for anyone and generally it's all been fine.

Received an email yesterday to all residents saying that they will now be enforcing parking restrictions properly and that all passes will be 4 hours only. Overnight or longer passes require estate manager approval in advance and shall only be given for medical or moving reasons.

The streets round here are all permit only and as we don't live on them we can't get a permit. The nearest open parking is a 5 min walk IF you can get a space.

So my understanding is that I can never have a visitor for more than 4 hours unless they park a walk away, despite the fact that there are likely to be spaces available. I imagine the council will make the open streets permit only soon too when people start using it for this...

Aibu to think this is unreasonable? And what recourse do I even have on this?! Help.

I don't think it's that much of a hinderance at all to walk 5-10mins with a baby. Since having my baby I've actually started walking more than ever before. Most people generally have a pram or baby carrier

It's not great they are enforcing it differently now, but I always take what flat management companies say with a pinch of salt.

Can you not park in the spot 5 mins away and give your space to your visitor?

So what would happen if you were, say, having a kitchen fitted and a tradesman needed to be in and out to his vehicle? Takes longer than 4 hours to fit a kitchen!

Bottom line is that there are too many cars and not enough parking. If you could park on the street, then those residents would then be very unhappy. We need to get used to not always taking our cars everywhere, or move somewhere with more space or better public transport. 5 mins walk doesn't sound too bad tbh.

My guess is that visitor parking is a problem in a sister block, so they've had no choice but to enforce the rule at yours. If it's one management company, they'll want one rule for everyone or it becomes impossible to enforce.

I would be annoyed as they previously were relaxed about the rules and have now changed their tune. It’s difficult for the management company as they might be getting pressure from residents in another block to enforce the 4 hour rule.

I used to live in a block where each flat had an allocated parking space and that was it. Park anywhere else and you faced a £100 parking charge.

If I was expecting a guest that wouldn’t like to walk/pay for parking I would move my car to the local car park in advance and let them use my space, so it was more convenient for them when they arrived. Is that a possibility?

There was a thread recently about why the British are so big on living in houses rather than apartments. Here's one excellent reason - you can park outside your own bloody door!